Inmate turns to high court

A condemned prisoner facing execution for the 1990 murder of an Amarillo businessman is pleading with the country's highest court to examine his case.

Brent Ray Brewer has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari - or a request to review his case - with the U.S. Supreme Court, according to 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals records.

If the Supreme Court grants the writ, it will order the circuit court to send it Brewer's case records to consider Brewer's appeal.

Brewer's attorneys could not be reached for comment Friday. The status of Brewer's petition is unknown.

Brewer, 35, has been on Texas death row since 1991, when he was convicted in the April 26, 1990, stabbing death of 66-year-old Robert Doyle Laminack.

Laminack had volunteered to give Brewer and Kristie Lynn Nystrom, then 21, a ride to the local Salvation Army. While en route, Brewer stabbed Laminack as Nystrom held Laminack's arms.

The pair stole $140 from the victim's wallet and fled. They were captured 12 days later near Dallas.

Brewer filed his petition after the 5th Circuit Court denied his request for a new trial last March.

Brewer claimed his constitutional rights were denied during his trial by two questions Randall County jurors were instructed to answer that did not allow them to factor Brewer's mental history into their decision.

The court disagreed, overturning U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson's ruling that granted Brewer a writ of habeas corpus, which would effectively have given Brewer a new trial.

Nystrom, now 37, pleaded guilty to capital murder and is serving a life sentence.